Canadian biathletes find Paralympic triumph in spirit of Games

A file photo of Mark Arendz of Canada practices prior to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Paralympics at Whistler Paralympic Park in Whistler, Canada.

Photograph by: Ezra Shaw
, Getty Images

WHISTLER, B.C. — Canada’s biathletes didn’t come away with any medals on Day 1 of the 2010 Paralympic Games.

Victories? That’s a whole other story.

There was 45-year-old Smithers, B.C., school teacher Jody Barber placing 10th in the women’s three-kilometre pursuit (standing). She’s only been on skis for three years.

From the other end of the country and the age spectre came Springton, P.E.I.’s Mark Arendz. The face of the War Amps organization in television ads, he’s only 20 and a now face of the Paralympic program after a seventh-place finish men’s three-km pursuit (standing).

And then there were the McKeevers, from Canmore, Alta., — Brian, the cross country ski stud who also made the 2010 Canadian Olympic team and his guide, brother Robin. They reached the final in the men’s three-km pursuit (visually impaired) despite battling the flu for the past week.

They talked it over and decided to do the race despite being less than 100 per cent.

“We gave ourselves a chance to medal in the morning,” said Brian McKeever, referring the morning qualifying race. “We saw ourselves in a position where we had a shot at the medals and that made it easier to decide to race in the afternoon.”

“We’re happy to be racing but not happy with how the body is feeling,” said Robin. “We do what we can.”

“We felt like we needed to get a race in and we felt we were healthy enough not to jeopardize the next races by racing today. That was the main focus. Neither one of us prepared mentally very well for this race. We just tried to do the best we could.”

As for the sixth-place finish, that was OK too.

“This equals our best biathlon performance at a Paralympics,” said Brian. “In Salt Lake City (in 2002) we were sixth and in Turin we were eighth. We proved that we can still ski despite the fact we’re not 100 per cent. I think as it gets better, as our health improves, we’ll be able to mount a pretty challenge in the cross-country races.”

Ukrainians and Russians are a confident bunch in biathlon. Six gold medals were handed out Saturday. Russia won three of them, Ukraine two and Germany one.

Ukraine’s Vitaliy Lukyanenko, who won gold with guide Volodymyr Ivanov in the three-km pursuit (visually impaired), was asked when he knew he would win a medal.

“Im really happy with that race,” said Arendz. “I’m only 20 so it’s the beginning of hopefully a long career. There were a few jitters on the range and that cost me. I’ll work on that and get better as the week progresses.

“This is a great stepping stone for me. I’m going to gain experience and hopefully I’ll get some results along the way.”

When Arendz was just seven-years-old he caught his left arm in the blades of a grain auger. It had to be amputated below the elbow.

A month after his accident he joined the CHAMP program of the War Amps and then became a junior counsellor to help others.

“That was one of the biggest things for me,” he said. “At first it was for my parents and then for me to see that were so many people out there like me. I owe a lot to them for my attitude of wanting to keep going and not letting my disability stay in my way.

“The goal now is to inspire the younger amputees.”

Then there’s Barber. She wasn’t even a para-nordic athlete when the 2006 Games took place in Turin.

But on Nov. 14, 2006, five days before the world long-course triathlon championship she was injured in a cycling accident. A former national age group triathlon champion, a three-time Ironman finisher, she was training for the championship in Australia when a car ran over her arm while she was training on the bike.

When she had her accident she was told that she’d never be able to do sports again.

“To be here it’s really hard to describe,” she said. “It’s a wonderful thing. No matter where we’re at we need to set goals and to try to achieve our full potential in wherever our passions are.

“I didn’t know about para nordic skiing. I phoned Cross Country Canada, they got me all dialed in and hooked up with the right people. It just sort of took from there. It’s been a lot of hard work and training but totally worth it. It’s good to set big goals and see where they take you.”

Like Arendz, she has an inspiration message. Pity isn’t part of it.

“Find an activity you love,” she said.

One other Canadian reached a final Saturday. Robbi Weldon of Thunder Bay, Ont., and her guide Brian Berry were sixth in the six-woman three-km pursuit visually impaired final.

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